Red cells: they're not just bags of haemoglobin.
In this episode of Haemline, we explore the diagnostic goldmine hiding in those RBC parameters you've possibly been scrolling past. Learn how to interpret red cell count, MCV, RDW, MCH, and MCHC in context—and why their relationships often matter more than the numbers alone.
Featuring: cold agglutinins behaving badly, the rule of threes, and why your biomedical scientist deserves more credit.
Through real clinical cases, we explore how to disentangle artefact from biology, avoid classic traps, and spot when “normal” values are anything but. Learn to distinguish thalassaemia trait from iron deficiency at a glance, discover why warming a sample can cure apparent macrocytosis, and sharpen your instincts for when the numbers just don’t fit.
Warning: May cause spontaneous checking of old blood results and suspicious squinting at MCHC values.
This is episode three in Haemline’s six-part series on the full blood count.
Episode category: General Interest
